Before Saturday night’s Nationwide Federated Auto Parts 300, Pastor Joe Nelms of Nashville’s Family Baptist Church was asked to pray.

And pray, he did!

Before the NASCAR crowd at Nashville Superspeedway Nelms noted that God tells to be thankful for all things — and then went on to thank the Almighty for “these mighty machines that you brought before us. Thank you for the Dodges and Toyotas. Thank you for the Fords and most of all we thank you for Roush and Yates partnering to give us the power we see before us tonight. Thank you for GM Performance Technology and R07 engines. Thank you for Sunoco racing fuel and Goodyear tires that bring performance and power to the track. Lord, I want to thank you for my smokin’ hot wife …’’

The respectful crowd began to suspect something was up about the time he was thanking God for Sonoco racing fuel. Drivers could seem to be looking up and chuckling. But the line about his smokin’ hot wife – a line from the movie “Talladega Nights’’ brought the house down. The crowd roared — but with the cadence of a Southern preacher, Nelm’s voice rose in magnitude as well